Calendar

&lt;cal2&gt;Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Some Saturday 11 a.m. performances. Single ticket prices range from $10-$22, with group rates available. It’s holiday time in Room One and that means drama! Tattletale May keeps picking on Junie B., and things get even worse when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa. She hatches a plan to give May a lump of coal, while getting an awesome Squeeze-A-Burp for herself. Will Junie B. have a last-minute change of heart and show her true holiday spirit? Just like its heroine, the show has laughs, verve and energy to spare! At Imagination Stage 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda. Imagination Stage offers discount ticket packages with benefits that emphasize the flexibility that parents and grandparents value, as well as significant savings. Details are on the website, www.imaginationstage.org.

&lt;cal1&gt;Now Through Jan. 9

&lt;cal2&gt;Holiday Art Show and Sale. Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The exhibition will feature works by resident artists, instructors and invited artists and will include glass, ceramics, jewelry, photography, painting, and more. In the Popcorn Gallery of Glen Echo Park. Call 301-634-2222 or visit glenechopark.org.

&lt;cal2&gt;Contra Dance. 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Admission is $9. Contra dance lesson from 7:30 to 8:15 p.m. followed by the called dance to live music from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. At the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Email: fndcontra@yahoo.com.

&lt;cal1&gt;Saturday/Jan. 8

&lt;cal2&gt;New Year’s Ball. 11:30 a.m. Sponsored by the Eminence Dance Studio. A fun-filled family extravaganza at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College, 51 Mannake street, Rockville. Tickets can be ordered by calling 202-465-6465 or e-mailing

eminencedance@netzero.net.

Potomac Library Used book sale. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Most hardback books and large paperback are $1 and regular paperback books are $.50. All books are donated by local residents. At 10101 Glenolden Dr., Potomac.

Israeli Film Fest. 7:45 p.m. "A Matter of Size" ("Sipur Gadol"), about the adventures of four overweight friends from the Israeli city of Ramle. Film will be followed by moderated discussion and refreshments. Admission is $10 for synagogue members, $12 for the general public. At Congregation Tikvat Israel, 2200 Baltimore Road, Rockville. Call 301-762-7338.

&lt;cal2&gt;"Home" Film. 10 a.m. Presented by the Cinema Art Bethesda. The movie tells of an eccentric family with three kids that live next to a remote and unfinished highway on which the kids play, and ultimately the affects on their lives when the highway is completed. At Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda. Visit the web site at http://CinemaArtBethesda.org or call 301-365-3679.

Contra and Square Dance. 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Admission is $12/nonmembers; $9/FSGW members. There is a lesson at 7 p.m., followed by dances to live music by Toss the Possum from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. At the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Visit www.fsgw.org.

&lt;cal1&gt;Monday/Jan. 10

&lt;cal2&gt;Beth Sholom Book Club Meeting. 8 p.m. The book, "A Pigeon and a Boy" by Meir Shalev is the winner of the 2007 National Jewish Book Award for fiction. At Beth Sholom Congregation, 11825 Seven Locks Road, Potomac. Email Tanya Lampert alamp9608@yahoo.com.

Open Rehearsals. 2 to 3:30 p.m. Free. Encore Choral for singers 55-plus. Calling all former high school and college choristers, church, synagogue and community choral singers. Be a part of the Encore Chorale conducted by Jeanne Kelly, past conductor of the United States Naval Academy Women’s Glee Club, Georgetown University Concert Choir and Senior Singers’ Chorales of the Levine School of Music. Encore Choral of Washington Conservatory of Music at Glen Echo Park. At the South Arcade, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Bethesda. Call Jeanne Kelly at 301-261-5747 or email Jeanne.kelly@encorecreativity.org.

&lt;cal1&gt;Friday/Jan. 14

&lt;cal2&gt;Poetry Out Loud Contest. 4 p.m. Free. The Writer’s Center will host the Montgomery County contest for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. Students from Gaithersburg, Walt Whitman, Katherine Thomas, and Richard Montgomery High Schools will participate. At The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda. Call 301-654-0864 or visit www.writer.org.

&lt;cal1&gt;Sunday/Jan. 16

&lt;cal2&gt;Waltz Dance. 3:30 to 6 p.m. Admission is $10. With the band, Night Watch playing a lively mix of folk waltzes with a few other couple dances, including Hambo, Schottische, Swing, Tango, and Polka. Introductory Waltz Workshop from 2:45 to 3:30 p.m.; dancing from 3:30 to 6 p.m. At the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Call Joan Koury at 202-238-0230 or Glen Echo Park at 301-634-2222, go to www.WaltzTimeDances.org.

&lt;cal2&gt;Pianist Brian Ganz. 8 p.m. The recital, which begins the series "Brian Ganz and the Strathmore Chopin Project," marks the start of his ambitious endeavor to perform the 250 works of Chopin over the next decade. Visit nationalphilharmonic.org or call the Strathmore ticket office at 301-581-5100. Tickets are $34-$44; kids 7-17 are free. At the Music Center at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike in North Bethesda.

Shir Ami- Song of Our People. At 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $28 (Stars price $25.20). Explore the rich mid-20th century musical heritage of the Jewish people. From Rimsky-Korsakov to Jewish composers who perished in the holocaust to musicians who emigrated after the holocaust and became cultural leaders, this moving performance recovers and rejuvenates music from this tumultuous period of history. At the Mansion at Strathmore. Call 301-581-5109 or visit www.strathmore.org.

Israeli Film Fest. 7:45 p.m. "Dear Mr. Waldman" ("Michtavim L'America") , a coming-of-age story in 1960s’ Tel Aviv written and directed by the son of Holocaust survivors. The latter film is rated R. Film will be followed by moderated discussion and refreshments. Admission is $10 for synagogue members, $12 for the general public. At Congregation Tikvat Israel, 2200 Baltimore Road, Rockville. Call 301-762-7338.

&lt;cal2&gt; Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Seldom Scene. At 8 p.m. Tickets are $25–$42 (Stars price $22.50–$37.80). With a career that spans five decades, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has influenced a generation of country rockers with hits like "Mr. Bojangles," "Dance little Jean" and "Fishin’ in the Dark." Opening are bluegrass favorites, The Seldom Scene who pull up some chairs and start telling stories with their brilliant arrangements of tunes by Duane Allman, John Fogerty, Merle Haggard, Steve Earle and Bob Dylan. At the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Visit www.strathmore.org or call 301-581-5100.

&lt;cal1&gt;Feb. 6 to March 13

&lt;cal2&gt;Perseus Bayou. Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Some Saturday 11 a.m. performances. Single ticket prices range from $10-$22, with group rates available. This award-winning musical sets the classic Greek myth of Perseus and his quest for the snake-headed Medusa in post-Civil War Louisiana. To save the bayou from the evil Polydectes, Percy must journey to the edge of the human world with the help of a conjure woman, Miss Athena, a spirit-cat, Panther Hermes, and a tomboy named Andromeda. Percy's coming-of-age is vividly told in this epic and magical theatrical work. Imagination Stage is delighted to welcome back Mary Hall Surface, whose The Hundred Dresses and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice played here in prior seasons. At Imagination Stage 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda, MD. Imagination Stage offers discount ticket packages with benefits that emphasize the flexibility that parents and grandparents value, as well as significant savings. Details are on the website, www.imaginationstage.org.

&lt;cal1&gt;Friday/Feb. 11

&lt;cal2&gt;Puppetry Slam. 7 to 8:15 p.m. and 9 to 10:15 p.m. Tickets are $10. Amateurs and professionals from all over the East Coast will perform edgy and provocative works that might not be seen at any other venue. Teens ages 13-16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. At the Puppet Co. Playhouse, Glen Echo Park. Call 301-634-5380 or visit http://www.thepuppetco.org/schedule/slam/

&lt;cal1&gt;Tuesday/ Feb. 15

&lt;cal2&gt; Duo Recital. At 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $28 (Stars price $25.20). This intimate duo recital in the Mansion pairs the critically acclaimed superstar cellist Alisa Weilerstein with singer/composer/pianist Gabriel Kahane, whose music "absorbs everything from nineteen twenties neoclassicism to bluegrass and modern indie pop" (The New Yorker), in a program featuring Bach’s Suite No. 5 and solo works by Kahane.

The performance culminates with the Washington premiere of a new sonata created by Kahane for cello, piano and voice which draws on the poetry of the great 20th century Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert. At the Mansion at Strathmore. Call 301-581-5109 or visit www.strathmore.org.

&lt;cal1&gt; Tuesday/ March 8

&lt;cal2&gt; Cirque Mechanics: Boom Town. 8 p.m. Tickets are $25–$45 (Stars price $22.50–$40.50). Join the acrobats of Cirque Mechanics as they time-travel to the 1865 mining town of rosebud, where an unlikely discovery sets off a hilarious series of events full of the lore and adventure of the old West. Treat the whole family to an evening The New York Times calls "exceptional, evocative, eye-catching, ear-catching, and engrossingly entertaining." At the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Visit www.strathmore.org or call 301-581-5100.

&lt;cal1&gt;April 9 to May 29

&lt;cal2&gt; George & Martha: Tons of Fun! Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Some Saturday 11 a.m. performances. Single ticket prices range from $10-$22, with group rates available. The two endearing hippos from the James Marshall picture books stomp onto stage in this warm and funny musical adaptation. George and Martha are best friends. They play music together and share meals, presents, picnics, and exciting adventures like flying a balloon. Sometimes they have differences as all friends do. But it cannot last. Like all good friends, George and Martha just can’t stay angry for long! This simple story says much about our relationships at any age. Geared for our youngest theatre-goers but enjoyable for all, this new musical by Joan Cushing sparkles with clever lyrics and laughter. At Imagination Stage 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda, MD. Imagination Stage offers discount ticket packages with benefits that emphasize the flexibility that parents and grandparents value, as well as significant savings. Details are on the website, www.imaginationstage.org.

&lt;cal1&gt;April 16 to May 21

&lt;cal2&gt; The Day John Henry Came to School. Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Some Saturday 11 a.m. performances. Single ticket prices range from $10-$22, with group rates available. Johnny is a typical 5th grader, way into video games and not especially motivated at school. Imagine his surprise one night when there’s a loud knock at the door and his ancestor John Henry bursts into his bedroom, wielding a 12 lb. hammer and insisting that he will visit Johnny’s class the next day for "Show & Tell." At first unimpressed by John Henry’s tragic tale about his race with the steam engine, the children in Johnny’s class come to appreciate the importance of his ultimate sacrifice. The award-winning playwright of Lost & Foundling has created another witty and insightful contemporary comedy. At Imagination Stage in the Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre. At Imagination Stage 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda, MD. Imagination Stage offers discount ticket packages with benefits that emphasize the flexibility that parents and grandparents value, as well as significant savings. Details are on the website, www.imaginationstage.org.

&lt;cal2&gt; The Wind in the Willows. Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Some Saturday 11 a.m. performances. Single ticket prices range from $10-$22, with group rates available. This musical retelling of the classic is faithful to the novel and features the beloved characters Mr. Toad, Mole, Ratty and Mr. Badger. It is early in the twentieth century and Mr. Toad falls hard for the charms of the motor car. His reckless driving results in his being thrown into prison, but, dressed as a laundry lady, he manages to escape. But will Mr. Toad be able to expel the Wild Wood squatters from Toad Hall and reclaim his home? Prepare to be enchanted by this irresistible mix of adventure and camaraderie. At Imagination Stage 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda, MD. Imagination Stage offers discount ticket packages with benefits that emphasize the flexibility that parents and grandparents value, as well as significant savings. Details are on the website, www.imaginationstage.org.